Up All Night

Hello, Donna and Josh here, writing a little update on Jerusalem goings-on...

Last night Josh and most of his cantorial colleagues dragged themselves out of bed in the middle of the night to attend a very special 3:00am service at the Aleppo Synagogue. "Bakashot" services take place between Simchat Torah and Pesach, in the dead of winter when the nights are long and there are a lot of specific things to pray for. The members of the congregation turn out at 3am every Shabbat to sing liturgical poetry until the sun rises. As part of a series of field trips led by Eli Schleifer, head of the cantorial program, the brave students went to Bakashot last night and ended up at Anna and Jamie's apartment for bagels at 7am. Then they all crawled home to get some sleep!

Some other updates: Donna had a really nice, relaxing birthday on Valentine's Day, and was thrilled when Josh came home with red roses -- so sweet! Donna had rehearsal for "Patience" but we were able to grab dinner beforehand at one of our favorite cafes. The show is now less than a month away, and it's really shaping up!

Yesterday we went to Rehovot (which seems now to be happening weekly) to say goodbye to Michael before he flew home to Cali on Saturday. The poor guy was sick all week and missed out on a lot of touring. We ate lunch at Savta and Saba's (of course) and were sent home with more tupperware full of food (of course.) On Thursday night we had five friends over for dinner to help us eat all the food in our fridge, and we still had a week's worth of food left after our huge meal! Thank goodness we can freeze most of it...

We are both looking forward to this coming week when we will be going to the Negev and Eilat on HUC's last tiyul of the year. This outdoorsy-type trip will consist of hiking, snorkeling, touring and, of course, educational programming. It will be nice to get out of rainy Jerusalem!

That's it for now. More soon!!

The Shortest and Busiest Month

It's almost impossible to believe that February is already here -- and in full swing! The past two weeks were extremely hectic, hence the lack of new posts. Here is a quick update of everything that's been happening:

Michael is here! My brother arrived in Israel on Jan. 31 for a two-and-a-half week visit. This weekend we picked him up in Rehovot and brought him to Jerusalem for the weekend. Poor Mix had to endure a nighttime rainstorm that caused our shabby windows to bang relentlessly, preventing any sleep. (Okay, Josh and Mix didn't sleep. For some reason I always snore away despite the howling wind and banging windows.) I wish I had more time to spend with my brother while he's here but I am so busy with teaching and rehearsals....

Last Friday night Josh led a special Kabbalat Shabbat service and Tu Bishvat seder for visiting members of the Jewish National Fund. Mix and I were at the service and it was really lovely; we were all guests afterwards at a delicious catered dinner where we got to schmooze with nice Jewish donor-types. Saturday morning we dragged my brother to services yet again, since Josh and I were both singing (all the cantorial students, plus one wanna-be, were "volunteered" to participate in the "Shirat ha-Yam" -- Song of the Sea -- Shabbat services.) Afterwards we had fun surprising our friend Mary for a birthday luncheon and later in the evening we had pizza with Erin, Matt, Stephanie and Mary. Some pics:

Me and Mary

Excellent pic of my adorable bro.

MWAH.

On Sunday, Josh took a personal day and the three of us went back to Rehovot to enjoy Savta's hospitality and some shopping. Mix said it best: "What's a trip to Israel without tagging along while other people look at jewelry??" Because that's exactly what we did, and happily we have some fun news to share: Josh and I bought wedding rings! They are lovely and we should be able to pick them up this coming weekend.

Later on Sunday after saying a goodbye-for-now to my brother, Josh and I headed back to J-lem for a meeting with the Associate Dean of HUC, who happens to be a rabbi, for a little pre-marital counseling session. We just figured we have access to the resources, so we might as well take advantage of it. We had a nice conversation -- who doesn't love talking about themselves? -- and are considering returning for another session, maybe bringing some specific questions to the table.

Back to our real lives. Rehearsals for "Patience" are becoming more frequent, and in the past two weeks I've had added ones for our promotional concert in Herzliya that is happening tomorrow. I have even more voice students now -- I think the total is up to 20? Phew.

This "quick update" has turned into a 45-minute endeavor. More later.....